Deadly Is the Kiss (2 page)

It took only a handful of minutes to make it down Colbert Road and onto James Street. The stylish restaurant Jax had described was easy to locate, its black awning flapping in the wind three buildings down on the opposite side of the road. As he made his way around the corner, keeping to his side of the street, Ashe narrowed his eyes, his height allowing him to scan the people who were sitting at the outside tables interspersed with tall patio heaters. He searched for a woman wearing a green sweater and spotted her almost instantly, the jade shade of the material catching his eye. She sat at one of the front tables, closest to the street, the soft glow of the outside lighting glinting off the mahogany fall of her hair. A strange sense of awareness prickled across the surface of his skin, his nostrils flaring as he tried to draw in the woman’s scent. But there were too many other scents between them, a deluge of London taxis and passenger cars making their way down the street, while bundled-up city goers walked briskly down the sidewalks.

Oblivious to the fact she was being watched, the woman reached out and lifted her glass of red wine, something about the casual gesture making him swear under his breath, a horrible suspicion gaining momentum through his system, buzzing through his mind.

It can’t be. No way in hell.

Ashe started walking a little faster, practically pushing people out of his way.

“Not fucking possible,” he growled, willing the woman to turn around so that he could see her face. Then, as if acting on his silent command, she set the glass down with trembling fingers, her shoulders tensing as she slowly turned her head, looking back over her slender shoulder.

Shock hit him so hard and fast, he nearly stumbled over his own two feet.

Holy…shit.

With his heartbeat roaring in his ears and a torrent of curses slipping past his lips, Ashe found himself staring not at an informant…but directly into Juliana Sabin’s wide, steel-gray eyes.

* * *

A
T
FIRST
GLANCE
, J
ULIANA
thought her luck was too good to be true. Here she’d spent the past day searching for Ashe, and he suddenly appeared out of nowhere, her vision filled with six feet plus of hard, intense-looking male. His big, beautiful body stood out so easily from those around him, as if he were simply standing there on his own, instead of on a sidewalk surrounded by bustling people. One of the city’s historic gas lamps flickered behind him, leaving his expression in shadow. But she could see the glowing silver of his eyes. Eyes that burned with a hot, angry glow.

Unable to hold his stare even from a distance, feeling as if he could see right into her, she quickly swept her gaze over the rest of him. He was dressed in a black sweater, leather jacket and jeans, his body long and lean and heavily muscled, his hair a rich sable-brown that looked as dark as a mink’s pelt in the deepening twilight. He had it cut even shorter than the last time she’d seen him, back in the spring, which would have been too much for most men, but when you had a face like Ashe’s, it didn’t matter. In fact, the severe cut only accentuated the fact that his tall body and rugged face were…well, obscenely perfect.

His skin was a little darker than before, the lines of strain around his eyes a bit deeper. He’d either been working his ass off or partying a little too hard. Though she knew the second idea was possible, given his popularity with women, she had a feeling it’d been the first, his vibe a little too edgy for someone who had been kicking back and living wild. He looked hard and mean and tough, and her insides did a little rumba at the reality of having all that raw male aggression and intensity focused directly on her.

It was said among the clans that the complex nature of the Deschanel was a delicate balance between the light and dark aspects of the world, and Ashe Granger was a prime example. He was a thing of outrageous beauty, and yet…he was also a thing of sinister danger. The complex duality of his nature was a helpless allure to most women, and Juliana knew damn well that he never lacked for female companionship when he wanted it. She’d also been told, by his close friend Morgan Scott, that none of the women who shared his bed ever meant anything to him, which wasn’t surprising. Men like Ashe Granger weren’t the type to settle down and fall in love. They enjoyed their variety—and she’d seen Ashe in action enough times at her family’s compound to know he liked his sexual assortment of partners more than most. Which meant she would never be foolish enough to get tangled up with him, even if he didn’t treat her like a criminal.

It was no secret that he didn’t like her. But that didn’t matter. All that mattered was finding a way to make the badass hunter believe her story, because she needed his help.

Once, she’d risked everything and lost, because she’d risked it on the wrong man. She had no guarantees that Ashe could be trusted, but she had to give him a shot. He was the one she’d been directed to find, and she was in too deep to pull back now. If he refused, she knew that Morgan and the other shape-shifters that Ashe worked with would do their best to help her. Or even Gideon, who would likely have the same important contacts that Ashe would, since he was a Förmyndare, as well. But her gut told her that it should be Ashe.

Juliana didn’t foresee them having an easy time of it, but at least his natural animosity toward her would keep things on a professional level. One without any of the sexual advances she assumed would come from Gideon, whose flirtatious personality was so at odds with his brother’s rough demeanor there were times when they seemed polar opposites.

Then again, she mused, noticing the way several women who’d walked past him were looking back over their shoulders, Ashe never seemed to have any trouble attracting and flirting with females of all species and ages. It was just her he treated like a leper.

And that’s a good thing,
she reminded herself, eyeing him as he waited impatiently on the opposite side of the road, the heavy traffic keeping him from immediately crossing.
I just need his help to save my family. Nothing more.

It might have seemed like a long shot, considering the last time she’d seen him he’d said something along the lines of
I won’t be coming back; have a nice life.
Even when spoken in the warm, husky blend of his Eastern European and British accent, the words had been painfully harsh. But while an ass, she also knew that Ashe Granger was a man who had committed his life to fighting against injustice and taking down criminals. He might not
want
to help her, but she had a feeling he’d be willing to do it for the rest of her family, so long as she could convince him that she was telling the truth.

She didn’t want to have the coming conversation on the restaurant’s patio, but she also didn’t want him to think she was running. Since she’d already paid her bill for the first truly delicious meal she’d had in years, she hefted her backpack over her shoulder and moved to the entrance of a narrow, shadowed lane that ran along the side of the restaurant, and waited for him there.

Chewing on the corner of her lip, Juliana wondered how he’d found her. She’d come to London searching for him, just like the letter in the pack she’d found outside the secret exit from the Wasteland had told her to do. She’d spent the day making inquiries at hotels, only targeting those in a higher price range, knowing the vampire enjoyed his luxuries. The guy was loaded, which meant he didn’t have to slum it unless necessary. After she’d finished her meal, she’d planned to continue her search, moving from Chelsea and into Kensington. But somehow, he’d found her…and he didn’t look happy about it.

With that furious look burning in his silver eyes, she found herself thinking back to one of their last conversations, when he’d been staying with his friends at her family’s compound in the Wasteland. Everyone was gathering in the dining hall for the evening meal, and she’d been about to enter the room, when Ashe had grabbed hold of her arm, pulling her farther along the stone-lined hallway.

She flinched at the hot feel of his skin and jerked out of his hold, fighting the urge to raise her hand and strike him across the face. The only thing that stopped her was the fact that her family and their friends weren’t far away, and she didn’t want to cause a scene.

“You’re burning up,” she muttered, rubbing the spot on her arm where his hot fingers had gripped her. “Who was it this time?”

He stared down at her through hooded eyes. “Who was what?” he asked in a deceptively lazy drawl.

“No adult, unmated male vampire runs as hot as you are without having gotten off!” Outrage shook her voice, the brittle words scraping her throat. “Did you think to come into my home and just sleep your way through my relatives?”

His tone was dismissive. “They’re not all your relatives,” he pointed out, crossing his muscular arms over his broad chest.

“The women who work here are under my protection! They don’t deserve to get mauled by some oversexed Lothario!”

A husky laugh rumbled in his chest. “I don’t force myself on women, Jules.”

Her lip curled with derision. “Making them false promises is just as bad.”

His eyes narrowed. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“You flash that perfect smile at them, rattling their brains, and they start thinking they have a chance with you. Not for sex, but for something more.”

“I don’t lead women on,” he growled, finally getting irritated.

A bitter smile twisted her mouth. “Your kind always does. I doubt you even realize you’re doing it. But I won’t be left with a compound full of scorned, heartsick women when you’re gone. I have enough to deal with!”

“You know what your problem is, Jules?” He stepped closer, pointing his finger right at her nose. “You need to get laid.”

“Well, when I do, you can sure as hell bet it will be with someone more honorable than you!”

Fury darkened his eyes. “I was going to talk to you about the compound’s defenses,” he said in a low, carefully controlled voice, “but I won’t waste your time.”

Without another word, he turned and walked away, leaving her standing there in the hallway alone, her throat trembling with a ridiculous burn of tears.

When Juliana had looked for him after she’d sat through dinner with her family, barely managing any of her food, he was nowhere to be found. She’d fought the urge to go knocking on doors, sniffing the hallways, searching for his scent. In truth, she didn’t trust what she would do if she found him in another woman’s bed. And she’d been furious at the way he’d kept interrogating everyone at the compound, determined to learn the reason for their banishment.

No one had told him, but his persistence had made her nervous. There were aspects of her past that she never wanted this man to learn. She had enough blood on her hands without adding his, as well. Not to mention the embarrassment she would feel if he knew just how foolish and naive she’d once been.

Now that she’d come to him for help, she would have to tread carefully with the truth to protect her secrets. She would do everything she could to protect him, but she couldn’t afford to let her emotions get in the way of what was important. There were too many people counting on her, their lives in her hands.

As soon as the traffic broke, he started making his way toward her, his stride long and angry. And then he was standing right in front of her, so close she could see the shadow of beard stubble darkening his hard jaw. His incredible scent wrapped around her like a warm breeze, so good she wanted to drool. God, he was even more gorgeous than the last time she’d seen him, and he smelled like sin. Hot and musky and deliciously male. Her physical reaction to him was a little overwhelming, her body heating and tingling with a strange rush of warmth as he swept his silvery gaze over her. She fought the urge to cover her chest with her arms, the tight turtleneck sweater more revealing than anything he would have ever seen her wear in the Wasteland, where clothing tended to be bulky and dated. She was surprised he’d even recognized her in the jeans, sweater and battered leather boots.